Deportation policies result in banished veterans

Beth Caldwell

Fabian Rebolledo – a veteran of the U.S. Army – lives right across the border in Mexico. He can see downtown San Diego’s skyline down the coast, but he may never enter the United States again. Rebolledo is one of at least 16 veterans of the American armed forces currently living in the Tijuana-Rosarito area who have been permanently deported from the United States. They call themselves Banished Veterans.

Headquartered in Rosarito, Mexico, Banished Veterans provides support and advocacy for displaced veterans and their family members. They’ve been in touch with over 100 deported veterans, and they estimate there are between 8,000 and 40,000 deported American veterans worldwide. ICE reports it does not track how many veterans it deports, so these numbers are impossible to confirm. Legal permanent residents may enlist in the military, but they face deportation if they are convicted of a criminal offense.

Rebolledo served in the Kosovo conflict in 1998. He was honorably discharged in 2000 and later became a contractor. In 2007, he was charged with check fraud for cashing a fraudulent check in the amount of $750. According to Rebolledo, the check was given to him as payment for a contracting job; he had no idea it was a bad check. Like many criminal defendants, he accepted a plea bargain to avoid the risk of a longer sentence. He didn’t realize he would subsequently be deported.

Rebolledo’s offense is categorized as a crime warranting the most serious immigration consequences under federal law. Legislative reforms in 1996 made deportation mandatory if an individual has been convicted of one of a long list of offenses ranging from failure to appear in court to drug charges to murder. Rebolledo is now separated from his 12-year-old American son, who continues to live in Los Angeles. They have not seen each other since Rebolledo’s deportation almost a year ago.

The Senate Judiciary Committee recently considered this issue in a hearing entitled “Building an Immigration System Worthy of American Values.” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who chaired the hearing, expressed concern that “longtime legal permanent residents with a U.S. family, a history of steady employment, those even who’ve served honorably in our armed forces can be, and in some cases have been, deported for any of a litany of relatively minor offenses that qualify only under the immigration code as aggravated felonies.”

The term “aggravated felonies” is misleading. The category includes misdemeanors, nonviolent felonies, and crimes that occurred 20 or 30 years ago and triggers mandatory deportation. Judges are prohibited from considering whether an individual has been rehabilitated since the crime occurred, and whether he is a threat to public safety. The law also requires detention while the removal case is pending. Deportation orders for these crimes are permanent, providing no hope of ever returning to the United States.

Some of the most vocal opponents of the law are immigration judges. Retired Judge Paul Grussendorf testified at the Judiciary Committee hearing and urged Congress to “restore judicial review and afford judges greater latitude in their deliberations especially on issues of detention.” Local immigration Judge Zsa Zsa DePaolo echoed this sentiment last week in her comments on a panel addressing immigration reform at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Immigration judges used to have more discretion, but now their hands are tied. Judge DePaolo explained that she often has to tell people who appear before her, “If I had the authority to do that, I would. But I don’t. … The law doesn’t give me any other option.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found in 2010 that U.S. deportation laws violate fundamental human rights by ignoring the impacts on families and by prohibiting courts from considering the best interests of children. The commission recommended a balancing test – similar to that used by European countries – where judges would consider individual cases to determine whether a noncitizen presents a risk to public safety that outweighs the damage deportation would cause to her family.

Nearly a quarter of those deported from July 2010 to September 2012 have American citizen children. Thousands of children of deported parents languish in the American foster care system. Those who remain in the U.S. often suffer from mental health problems due to their separation from the deported parent.

As it considers comprehensive immigration reform, Congress has the opportunity to create an immigration system that is consistent with American values and international human rights principles, and promotes family unity. I hope it will choose to do so.